The First Meeting
by moonlitfate
Summary: It all starts with his eleventh birthday, an old piece of parchment and a new motto, which leads to the beginning of a long friendship.


The First Meeting

Teddy Lupin had never been the outgoing type. He was well known to the Potter's, as well as the Weasley's, as being the shy, timid one who kept his opinions to himself. At family gatherings, when various members of both families would meet to laugh and reminisce over the same old stories, Teddy could be found in a separate room quietly reading a book and generally avoiding all social activities.

There were very few people he felt he could really trust, his godfather Harry and grandmother Andromeda being the closest thing he had to family among this special group. He loved to hear Harry speaking about his parents; particularly when his godfather recounted his first meeting with both Teddy's mother and father. He liked to imagine his father as being brave and bold, swooping in to save the day and chasing the Dementor's from the train. And he found himself chuckling away in his room at the idea of his mother tripping over umbrella stands and impressing Harry with her skills as a metamorphmagus, skills that he in turn had inherited.

But the stories he loved hearing most of all were from his grandmother. It wasn't until his eleventh birthday that Andromeda told her beloved grandson about Remus' condition that he so desperately wanted to hide from the world. A secret that he never wanted anyone to know and one that he feared would affect those he loved, including his son. Teddy had heard much about werewolves, who hadn't? But he was undeniably surprised when he discovered his father had in fact been one of these legendary creatures that he so often read about, and he steadfastly refused to believe that all werewolves were malicious. Not his dad. No way.

It was also on his eleventh birthday that he learned the truth concerning his parent's death. He had always known that they had died shortly after he was born, but whenever he asked how his grandmother would only reply,

"I'll tell you when you're older."  
Well now he was older, and he knew the truth. He couldn't help but feel proud; knowing that his parents had been heroes. But at the same time he felt an overwhelming sadness as he looked at Andromeda tearfully and asked,

"Didn't they want to stay with me?"  
That was the first time he had seen his grandmother cry, and they both cried together long into the night as she recounted their deaths and handed a letter to him, a letter that was worn and frayed from age but still sealed with wax. It was a letter from his mother, written before she joined her husband and friends to fight the malicious Lord Voldemort at the epic Wizard War of Hogwarts.

He had waited until his grandmother had put him to bed, kissing his forehead and telling him how proud she was of him in hushed tones, as if it were some secret, before he opened the letter.

* * *

_Dearest Teddy,_

_If you are reading this then you must know that your father and I are so sorry that we aren't there for you. I wished it would not turn out this way but I think a part of me always knew that it would. If your father and I had stayed with you as we both wished we could, we could never forgive ourselves for any who were hurt during the war. We would always wonder "What if I could have saved them?" _

_It seems strange now, to be writing about something that hasn't happened yet but is so close I can taste it, and it feels just as strange to be this formal. I'll tell you now, I can't remember ever being formal in my life! But I'm sure you've heard plenty about this from others, so I'll save myself the embarrassment of repeating it._

_Your father and I love you very much Teddy. Even now as I write to you, you're lying in your crib, giggling at your own reflection in the mirror as your hair changes from turquoise to pink. I find it very odd that you are reading this right now as a young man, and I find myself wondering if you're still laughing at your own reflection. I wish I could have seen you grow up. I wish I could have been there for you, to help you to control your abilities, to see the exceptional wizard that you will no doubt become. I wish I could hold you in my arms every night and tell you how much I care; how you and your father are the only things I have ever truly cared for in my entire life. But I know even now that it's unlikely to happen. I would give anything to be able to return home to you, with your father by my side and to be able to tear this parchment to shreds, knowing that your world is safe and there will never be any need for you to read this letter, but I know in my heart that if you are in fact reading this letter, then your world is safe. I know that I will have done my duty and gave you the best possible future, and I hope you can see this too._

_I wish it didn't have to be this way, but we don't always get what we want from life. And so I beg of you to please, please take what you can get from it. Live everyday like it's your last and never give up. Stand up for what you believe in and don't shy away. You're strong, you're so, so strong, I can see it in your smile as you grin at me now, unaware of how much your life is about to change. I wish you the very best in this, and hope that you can one day forgive me and your father for what we are about to do._

_P.S. You have your father's smile._

_Wotcher Teddy, _

_Mum_

* * *

Things were very different from that night on. Teddy received his Hogwarts acceptance letter and immediately asked to be taken to Diagon Alley to buy his "essentials". He was more animated than anyone had ever seen him before, and both Harry and Ginny never ceased to be amused by Teddy's one sided conversations concerning Hogwarts,

"I wonder if I'll get put into Gryffindor like my dad? That would be so cool! Weren't you a Gryffindor Harry? Ooh! But I might get put into Hufflepuff like my mum! Everyone says Hufflepuff is less smart than the other houses, but I think that's utter codswallop, my mum was way too smart for that, the other houses are probably just jealous. I wonder which lesson will be my favourite; I guess I won't know till I get there. I hope they can help me with my meta-morphy-thingy skills, I want to be just as good as mum by the time I leave!"

And so he continued until the night of the 31st of August, the night before he left for the legendary Hogwarts, and his godfather had thrown a leaving party for him. Ordinarily, Teddy would have cringed at the thought of being the center of attention, he never cared much for having the spotlight, but he wanted to make his mother proud wherever she was and so he made her words his motto: "Live everyday like it's your last and never give up." Sure, he'd heard it plenty of times before, but it just seemed different coming from that letter; more meaningful. And that was how he found himself in his current situation, approaching a girl with long, shimmery blonde hair stood with Ginny's brother George, tapping her shoulder to get her attention and, when receiving it, saying "Wotcher Victoire."


End file.
